Pictures taken by Rick Matteson at the new Apple Store in Lake Grove, Suffolk County.There was the usual T-shirts for the first 1000 guests, but these were black, instead of the white that was given out at the other two Long Island Apple Stores. The sweepstakes is still open:

The winner will receive a 17-inch 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo, a 4GB iPod nano, a Canon PowerShot SD550 digital camera, a Sony Handycam CCD-TRV138, and an HP Deskjet 5440 printer. No purchase necessary. Submit your entry from September 9 through October 9. Official Rules.

Half of the line at 9:30 AM. The first guy on line got there at 6:45 AM. I didn't think the mall even opened at that hour. The store was scheduled to open, for the very first time to the public, at 10 AM. The ceiling of the mall is in pieces as the whole mall is undergoing renovation.

The front half of the line. In order to not block other stores, the line right at the door is short and then jumps to another line on the other side of this aisle, just before the center kiosks. You can't see it, but at the end of the western arm of the mall, is a Dell kiosk. It was covered by a drop cloth that morning.

The line grows... You think the jewelry kiosk in front of the store will get more business now? Rick Matteson, while waiting, handed out brochures and chatted with the folks waiting in line. Of course he's not in this picture, he's the one taking it.

... and grows... You can better see the second part of the line in this shot. It curled around a last kiosk and back up the other aisle. Bradley took the beginning of the line and handed out our 3-fold brochures to everyone. Maybe we will get some more members.

Store front before opening, As you can plainly see, this Apple Store has the brushed metal look to the front with big glass in front, not just the door. As opposed to the flat black front like the other two Apple Stores on Long Island. It shows off the interior better.

Tension builds as George Canellis gets a close look. He is not praying. He has a digital camera in his hands. OK, maybe he is praying, praying to win the sweepstakes. His old style Apple logo tattoo on his leg caught several people's eye. If he wore his kilt, it would have really drawn people's attention.

OK, so the staff got themselves psyched up for the opening of the doors, the people got edgy waiting for the moment, mall security got edgy and then the doors opened, everybody clapped. The people rushed in and were each handed a small box with the special T-shirt in it.

The first wave of shoppers. The store seems a bit wider and deeper than the other two LI stores. It doesn't have the IKEA style of the others. Stone floors and heavy wood tables. The left side center tables has MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

A view from the Disney side of the Store. Disney side? The very next store, to the right, is a Disney outlet. Hmmm, did Steve Jobs work that one out? The right side center tables had a lot of iPods and headphones.

This angle shows the first table with a iPod shopper and a new shopper coming through the wide glass doors from the mall entrance. The refreshed iPod nanos had not been introduced yet.

The initial rush subsides a bit about a hour and half into what will be a very long first day. People were buying, not just looking. I looked around, no more PPC Macs to be seen, all are Intel based at the store.

About halfway down on the right side is the Genius Bar. You can bring your ailing Mac or iPod here and get questions answered by the specially trained staffers.

Something new on the left: The StudioThe Studio is the creative hub of the Apple Store, Smith Haven. A place where your ideas and our help come together to enhance your Mac projects. Whether your interest is photography, movie-making, music or everyday use of your Mac, our team of Creatives can help you. They’ll teach you one-on-one how to re-touch photos, compose music and make Hollywood-style movies. To save time, use the Apple Store Concierge to Make a reservation.

OK, so the studio wasn't busy. So we take a few more steps deeper into the store and see the kids area with the funky black foam balls for the tykes to sit on. There is short line at the registers, center in this picture. At this point, adults, if you look to your left, you find the accessories, speakers, hard drives, and printers (against the left wall, out of view in this shot).

OK, so we take a moment to get our bearings and spin around to look towards the entrance again. There seems to be a lady at The Studio. We get a better view of some scanners and hard drives. We really should back up our Macs. Seem to be quite the crowd towards the front. Lets check it out...

You can see the Payless Shoe Source store across the way. JC Penney is just to the left, closer to the center of the mall.

Mac users come in all sizes and ages. Get 'em started young I say.

Your intrepid webmaster and Technical Advisor, Bradley Dichter, George Canellis and surprised John Olearchick in the Hawaiian shirt. The box I'm holding is the commemorative T-shirt, George has a flyer he hasn't handed out yet and John actually bought stuff, so that's a Apple bag behind him.

OK. We've hung out for hours checking out the store and how busy it was opening day, we passed out 200 brochures and fliers and it's lunch time. One last look into the store as we go. Good Luck Apple Store Smith Haven.

Just had to show you the adjoining Disney store. With Steve Jobs CEO of Apple and on the Disney Board, can it be a coincidence that these two stores are next to each other? Well, anyway, the brushed aluminum look to the Apple Store facade blends better with the front of other stores in the area.